Wednesday, March 4, 2015

J. Herbert Nelson speaks on SCOTUS and Health Care

This morning, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in King v. Burwell. This case could take away access to health care for 8 million people and cause premiums to spike for millions more. A decision in favor of the petitioner, King, could eliminate tax credits to buy health coverage through the Affordable Care Act in approximately three dozen states. The resulting chaos would wreak havoc on the health care system, placing the most vulnerable people in our communities at risk.

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, PC(USA) Director for Public Witness, joined with several other faith leaders, patients, families, nurses, doctors, healthcare providers, and other allies to support health care subsides for millions of people in the U.S. and to affirm that health care is a human right, an essential component of human dignity and just community.

Nelson said, "We advocate so vigorously for affordable health care, because we know that sickness in public places is a barrier to building community."

Benevolent,
Beneficent, and Bountiful Creator, we humble ourselves before You as we ask
that our prayers be heard and answered. We come before you as Ecumenical and
Interfaith religious leaders appealing for guidance that only you can give. As
we stand with millions of people today who could lose their health insurance by
a ruling of this Supreme Court of our country, we petition You to exercise Your
Supreme Authority that calls us here today to stand for the least of these
among us.

We all can attest
that in your mercy, you have reached down and provided a balm of healing amid
our need. Therefore, our presence here today is a reminder to others that you
are still in the business of hope and healing. Therefore, our advocacy for
affordable healthcare is an affirmation of your Sovereign love for all of
humanity.

We pray in the name
of the Sovereign Creator, who chooses love over the law while giving grace in
all things. Amen

Good morning. I am Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, Director
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness in Washington, DC.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly has supported legislative
efforts for affordable healthcare in Washington, DC for more than sixty years. They
approved a resolution for advocacy on behalf of the uninsured. Despite our
historic advocacy for a single payer system, we were excited in 2010 when the
United States Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. We felt a move one stop
closer to our nation realizing that the scriptures that we follow calls each of
us to care for the least of these among us.

We advocate so vigorously for affordable healthcare, because
we know that sickness in public places is a barrier to building community.
Jesus teaches us through many biblical encounters that healing provides
stability to the body; wholeness to the mind; and sustenance to the Spirit.
When people are walking around unstable; lacking mental clarity and Spiritually
disconnected it impacts households, institutions and whole communities.

In my travels, I have heard the testimonies of self employed
professionals who are thankful that their premiums are significantly lower,
because their pre-existing conditions are no longer held against them. On the
other hand, I have heard from the poor who work every day and could not
previously afford insurance for themselves or their children, giving thanks for
the opportunity to know that they did not have to go to work sick or send their
children to school while self diagnosing their conditions, because they could now
afford a doctor’s care. When sick people are all around us, who cannot afford a
balm of healing, we all are impacted.

I know these judges are deliberating over interpretations of
the law, but let’s cut to the chase. This is an issue of national security,
because my faith tells me that righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34a).
This court has an opportunity to render a supreme judgment if they can
recognize in their deliberations that highest law that they can render is one
that is based in love.

Let affordable healthcare remain affordable for the estimated 8 million persons who stand to lose their insurance.

About Me

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation's capital since 1946.
Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, "Civil magistry is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life."